AIDA Cruises celebrates start of construction for second LNG cruise ship

German cruise line AIDA Cruises has celebrated the cutting of the first steel for its second fully powered LNG. The sistership to AIDAnova is scheduled to set sail in spring 2021.

During a ceremony at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany, AIDA Cruises has celebrated the cutting of the first steel for the sister ship of AIDAnova, the world’s first cruise ship that is fully powered with low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG).

With the official start of construction for the second ship of this innovative AIDA ship generation to be put into service in spring 2021, the company is continuing its course and making a further contribution to reduced emissions in cruising.

AIDA Cruises was recently awarded the Blue Angel, the German Federal Government’s ecolabel for AIDAnova’s environmentally friendly ship design. 

As early as 2023, the third LNG cruise ship of AIDA Cruises, “Made in Germany,” will set sail. Through the use of LNG emissions of particulate matter and sulfur oxides are almost completely eliminated, nitrogen oxide and CO2 emissions are sustainably reduced.

At 337 meters long, 20 decks high and a gross tonnage of 183,900 GT, the new ships for AIDA Cruises have capacity for around 2,600 cabins.

By 2023, around half of all AIDA guests will be sailing on state-of-the-art LNG ships that stand apart with many further technical innovations for greater efficiency, less fuel consumption and conserved resources.

AIDA Cruises is also a trailblazer in many other areas that contribute to the energy transition. By the end of 2020, twelve of fourteen AIDA ships will be equipped for shoreside energy from renewable sources. Parallel to this, AIDA Cruise is currently exploring the use of fuel cells, batteries and liquefied gas from renewable sources in cruising. The company plans to test the first fuel cell unit on board an AIDA vessel in 2021.